March is the month to connect with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources’ fisheries offices across the state. The agency is updating fisheries management plans for 197 lakes in 52 counties in 2026, and is inviting Minnesotans to reach out and share their input.
Local lakes included are: Iron and Wilson in Murray County; and McKay in Lyon County.
The DNR encourages people with thoughts on the future management of a lake with a scheduled plan update to call or email the area fisheries office for that water body before March 31. Area fisheries teams will consider the public’s observations and comments as they develop updates for each management plan.
“We’re inviting anyone interested in the health and quality of Minnesota’s fisheries to contact us during this critical part of the DNR’s fisheries lake management planning process,” said Ryan Maki, fisheries management consultant.
A list of lakes scheduled for plan updates in 2026 is on the Minnesota DNR website (mndnr.gov/ lakemanagement). Fisheries management plans for Minnesota’s 10 largest lakes ( mndnr. gov/ top10lakes) follow a similar but separate update process.
